Nelson at Monza

Nelson Piquet dominated the British Formula 3 in 1978 in a Ralt, and Formula One team bosses started to pay attention to this talented Brazilian driver. Piquet made his Formula 1 debut for Ensign in Germany, starting 21st only to retire on lap 31 with a broken engine.

He then made a deal with Bob Sparshott, to drive his BS Fabrications McLaren M23-Cosworth, in the next three races. Nelson left good impressions, his best finish being ninth in Italy (picture above).

For the last race in 1978, Nelson Piquet moved to the Brabham team; qualified in 14th and finished eleventh (picture below). That was enough to convince Bernie Ecclestone, the owner of the Brabham team to sign him for the 1979 season and beyond.

The two got along well, respect each other, and Ecclestone declared: “Nelson was very committed, he spent all his time in the factory, and I was impressed by his speed and technical feedback.” Piquet stayed with Brabham until 1985, and left the team with two (1981 and 1983) World Drivers’ Championships, under his belt.